[vidarh]

I still remember the phone number I had from when I was 10-19, but I can't remember my sons or my mums phone numbers, or indeed any numbers I've had or used since I was 19 other than my current number that I got in my 30's. Basically, the moment I got my first cellphone in '95 or so, I stopped learning phone numbers, other than remembering my current number because I give it out regularly.

But also, I think, because my parents drilled that old number into me, because remembering it was a "lifeline".

[phantom784]

I made a point to memorize my wife's and my parents' cell numbers, just in case I'm ever in a situation where I don't have a phone and need to reach them (like if I got robbed or something).

[vidarh]

It's a sensible thing to do, but I have so many ways to get at online services where I can reach them that it hasn't felt pressing - if I'm in a situation where the only phone I can get hold of isn't a smartphone it sounds more like a 999 or nearest consulate kind of situation... But you're right it'd probably be worth doing anyway.

[ssl-3]

So you get robbed (or something), and you're physically OK but have no phone and no wallet.

You find a phone to use, however you do that, and dial the local emergency number (0118 999 881 999 119 725...3), and maybe they show up and take a report.

And then they leave.

Now, you're in the same situation you were in before (no phone, no wallet) -- nothing has really changed.

What happens next? What's your next move?

[vidarh]

I don't think I've ever traveled anywhere where I'd be concerned I would be unable to get at an internet connection long enough to get at my info, including copies of all my documents, or would be unable to find help to arrange transport back to my home or my hotel where I'd have other means. It's feels like a contrived scenario if you travel primarily in developed countries, and mostly urban areas. If I were going somewhere in the middle of nowhere, or a third world country where I'd be concerned about more likely to be targeted, maybe. I'm not saying it's a bad idea, but having grown up before cellphones and with no expectation of having easy access to a phone, this obsession with being able to easily contact someone just is very foreign to me still.

[ssl-3]

> where I'd be concerned I would be unable to get at an internet connection long enough to get at my info, including copies of all my documents, or would be unable to find help to arrange transport back to my home or my hotel where I'd have other means.

I don't even know where to begin getting copies of "all of my documents" online as a native US-born citizen.

> It's feels like a contrived scenario if you travel primarily in developed countries, and mostly urban areas. If I were going somewhere in the middle of nowhere, or a third world country where I'd be concerned about more likely to be targeted, maybe.

I got robbed and beat up walking back from the store in a very clean, well-lit area of a growing city of ~45,000 once -- in Ohio, of all places. I didn't consider myself a target then, and I don't consider myself a target now. But it happened anyway, and if it can happen to me in that seemingly-safe environment, then it can probably happen to anyone else in any other environment.

> I'm not saying it's a bad idea, but having grown up before cellphones and with no expectation of having easy access to a phone, this obsession with being able to easily contact someone just is very foreign to me still.

I'm not saying that your ideas don't have any merit. I also grew up before cell phones and was well into adulthood before they became common.

But I am saying these seem a lot of mental gymnastics to perform in justification of avoidance of the positively arduous and herculean task of...simply committing the phone number for a resourceful friend to memory.

---

And why? Well, because friends are awesome.

"Hey, I'm in San Francisco. I don't have my phone or my wallet. No, no, I'm OK -- I'll tell you about it later. Yeah, some money would help right now. Sure, I can call you back in an hour. Thanks man."

...and soon enough, that resourceful friend will have that sorted well-enough for me that I can at least buy some food somewhere and start getting back towards whatever "normal" is, just as I would do for them.

[vidarh]

You miss the point - I have copies of everything I need easily reachable anywhere I can get online.

And if beaten up and robbed, it just seems inconceivable to me that if I can get to a phone to get help, I can't also subsequently get online.

It's not a lot of mental gymnastics - this discussion is the majority of the time I've spent on this in a lifetime. I just don't live in fear of anything like that happening. If I'm ever wrong, then so be it - there are far more risks far more worth caring about to me.